Ke$ha Throws a Party at Solo NYC Show

The provocative pop princess gets rowdy while performing her hits for a packed house of fans.

The pop provocateur sauntered onstage for her free concert at NYC’s Roseland Ballroom in aviator sunglasses, ripped glitter t-shirt, and fingerless cheetah-print gloves while a recording of rapper Flo Rida’s 2009 hit “Right Round” blasted in the background. Singing the hook on the track was Ke$ha’s first big break. The song is also responsible for the dollar-sign addition to the Nashville transplant’s stage name-a reference to the fact that while recording it Ke$ha had minor celebrity, but not a whole lot of cash.

A year later, though, the packed house was there to see Ke$ha perform her own hits.

The 9-song, 40-minute set was a celebration of her recent cover for Paper magazine, showcasing fan favorites from her No. 1 debut album, Animal. And the exuberant, dance-ready crowd knew every word.

Smutty electro-pop come-on “Blah Blah Blah” opened the show, while the rambunctious banger “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” found Ke$ha’s two male back-up dancers outfitted in high school band uniforms with bass drums attached to their bodies, which she vociferously pummeled.

Later on, new synth-heavy single “Take It Off” found these same dancers stripped down to nothing but their tattered jean shorts.

Ke$ha eventually took a break from jumping around the stage for the auto-tuned slow burner “Stephen,” installing herself at the keyboard as violet-hued lights created a soft halo around her wild blonde hair and glitter makeup. Of course, she undercut this moment of sincerity with her explanation of the song: “Not to be a pussy, but I’m gonna sing a song about a dude…the motherf***er won’t call me!”

That’s the thing about Ke$ha, she doesn’t seem as though she’s taking herself seriously and doesn’t beg anyone else to. She layers her insanely catchy pop music and over-the-top stage persona with a comic irony. And as she closed out the set with her chart-topping hits “Your Love is My Drug” and “Tik Tok,” blasting her glitter-filled toy bazooka into the crowd, her fans screamed along to show they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Comments

Will Butler has always been an outlier. As Arcade Fire's second-most-famous Butler, he's always made being weird seem just as alluring as fitting in. During the band's live shows, the multi-hyphenate artist (synthesizer, bass, guitar, clarinet, and hell, even the glockenspiel) avoids the spotlight while throwing out enough manic energy — howling in one moment,… More »